Issa: The next Benghazi hearing is going to “expose new facts” the Obama admin has “tried to suppress”

Erika JohnsenPosted at 12:41 pm on May 1, 2013

President Obama proclaimed (or should I say, feigned?) ignorance during his presser on Tuesday when he was asked about the reported allegations against his administration for intimidating potential whistleblowers with information on the leadup to and fallout from last September’s terror attack in Benghazi, but Congressional Republicans aren’t going to allow him to get away with that excuse for very long. House Oversight has scheduled another hearing on the Benghazi investigation for next week, and it sounds like we might actually be hearing testimony from some of the witnesses who haven’t felt that they’ve been able to come forward — until now, that is:

“This Administration has offered the American people only a carefully selected and sanitized version of events from before, during, and after the Benghazi terrorist attacks” said Chairman Issa. “Not surprisingly, this version of events casts senior officials in the most favorable light possible.”

“Last October, the Oversight Committee exposed State Department denials of security requests made by our diplomats in Libya and forced the Obama Administration to concede that there never was a protest of a YouTube video. Next week’s hearing will expose new facts and details that the Obama Administration has tried to suppress.”

Rep. Jason Chaffetz cautiously suggested as much this morning, and hinted that this is probably only going to be the first of several more hearings:

And the revived hearings might not be coming a moment too soon; according to another report from Fox News, the administration’s handling of the aftermath is wildly suspect:

The U.S. has identified the mastermind of the Benghazi attack, sources told Fox News, though the individual apparently is walking free in Libya. …

But one source told Fox News the government is “sitting on” information. …

Fox News spoke exclusively with one special operator who watched the events unfold in real time and has debriefed those who were part of the response. He remains anonymous for his safety and has decided to talk because he says he and others connected with the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi are frustrated with the excuses and lack of a military response since Stevens and three other Americans were killed.

“We have all the capability, all the training, all the capacity, to kill and capture not only terrorists involved, with the specific events of 9/11, and Ambassador Stevens’ death, but terrorists that are feeding other regions including Europe that could eventually affect our national security in the short term,” the source said. “And we’re not talking midterm or long-term, this is the short-term.”